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Ob

(Encyclopedia)Ob ôp [key], river, c.2,300 mi (3,700 km) long, W Siberian Russia. With the Irtysh River, its chief tributary, it is c.3,460 mi (5,600 km) long and is the world's fourth longest river. Formed by the ...

Close, Glenn

(Encyclopedia)Close, Glenn, 1947–, American actress, b. Greenwich, Conn. She began her career in the theater, debuting on Broadway in Love for Love (1974), winning an Obie for the off-Broadway The Singular Life o...

Highsmith, Patricia

(Encyclopedia)Highsmith, Patricia, 1921–95, American novelist, b. Fort Worth, Tex., as Mary Patricia Plangman, grad. Barnard College (B.A. 1942). She first traveled to Europe in 1949 and moved there in 1963, livi...

Benton, Thomas Hart, American painter

(Encyclopedia)Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889–1975, American regionalist painter, b. Neosho, Mo.; grandnephew of Sen. Thomas Hart Benton and son of Rep. Maecenas E. Benton. In 1906 and 1907 he attended the Art Institut...

Walker, Kara Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Walker, Kara Elizabeth,1969–, American artist, b. Stockton, Calif., grad. Atlanta College of Art (B.F.A., 1981), Rhode Island School of Design (M.F.A., 1994). Walker is best known for her large, cut...

Lewis, Wyndham

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Wyndham (Percy Wyndham Lewis) wĭnˈdəm [key], 1886–1957, English author and painter, born on a ship on the Bay of Fundy. With Ezra Pound, he was cofounder and editor of Blast (1914–15), a...

New Zealand

(Encyclopedia)CE5 New Zealand zēˈlənd [key], island country (2015 est. pop. 4,615,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellingt...

McClure, Sir Robert John Le Mesurier

(Encyclopedia)McClure, Sir Robert John Le Mesurier, 1807–73, British arctic explorer. He entered the navy and in 1848 accompanied Sir James Clark Ross to the arctic. As a naval captain he was given command (1850)...

Mitchell, Maria

(Encyclopedia)Mitchell, Maria, 1818–89, American astronomer and educator, b. Nantucket, Mass. Mitchell taught school in Nantucket, and later became a librarian. On Oct. 1, 1847, Mitchell discovered a comet (1847 ...

Kyosai

(Encyclopedia)Kyosai (Kawanabe Kyosai), 1831–89, Japanese painter and caricaturist. He studied with Kano Tohaku and was influenced by Hokusai. He is considered Japan's first political caricaturist, and the politi...